Frames
by aavonlea
Summary: Tumblr prompt: Skye finds a few things Simmons left behind when she left the Playground. Set after Making Friends and Influencing People.


Sometimes Skye really didn't like to go past the room. Sometimes she would stare at the door for unnecessary amounts of time with her eyebrows scrunched together and her nose crinkled in a fixed, unreadable expression. And sometimes, Skye didn't see any point in beating around the bush and walked straight into the room.

Back during the first couple months with Jemma and before the events of Italy - after Italy the entire team grew closer - Skye didn't know what she would've found in Jemma's room. She might've been shocked to find anything but research articles lining the shelves, or scientific doodads Fitz might've put together for her. She might've been intrigued or even astonished to find the vast array of items collected on the shelves and adorning the walls.

Now, though, Skye knew Jemma. She could ascertain with complete certainty that everything on these walls was so perfectly taylored for Jemma that it couldn't have been anyone else to place them there.

On the walls were a medley of posters from different shows and movies, anything from Harry Potter and Doctor Who to Attack on Titan and Hetalia. Skye remembered commenting on these posters when she'd first visited Jemma's other room on the Bus, saying the only poster Skye had on her own walls was a single Wicked poster. Skye giggled as she remembered the horrified silence on Jemma's part at that - apparently Jemma was under the impression everyone watched Doctor Who.

There was also a shelf filled to the brim with books (about half of them belonging to Fitz, according to her), as well as comic books and fandom merchandise. There wasn't a single sciency thing there except for what looked like a child's book of constellations.

One wall was so completely dedicated to pinned up photos that the color of the wall beneath was hardly visible. Pictures of Jemma and various other people covered this stretch of the room. A significant portion were of herself with Fitz in numerous settings: the Bus lab, outside of storefronts, a few from missions, some from what she recognized as the Boiler Room at the Sci Ops Academy and others from what she could only assume were the Academy labs.

Others were of her and people Skye guessed were classmates from SHIELD Academy.

"Our Simmons is quite the social butterfly," Skye said, allowing herself a smile as she peered over the dozens of photos displaying Jemma with a crowd of other girls at a concert (Jemma was wearing fat earmuffs and Skye could almost hear her going on about the importance of taking care of one's hearing), some with groups of rowdy guys and girls in the crowd of what Skye assumed was a football game, and quite a few pictures of a clearly wasted Jemma in the Boiler Room. Skye had seen all of these things already, having been in the room many times before, but she always enjoyed seeing the different sides of Jemma Simmons.

"She wasn't really close to many people, except for me of course," Fitz had once told Skye after she'd first ventured into the room, with a look of all honesty on his face that was made somewhat less sound by the tiny smug grin. "Yeah, though. She did go out quite a bit, had quite a few friends. I stuck to the Boiler Room or the dorms myself but…" He trailed off with a shrug.

Then there were the new additions, the ones of her with the team. Besides Fitz, there were several of her with May (May usually had one of her Mona Lisa smiles, warmth in her eyes) and Coulson too (one arm wrapped around Jemma's shoulders, a proud smile on his face). Skye felt the urge to scowl upon seeing a picture of Ward with his arm around Jemma and a small grin on his face, but she just didn't have the energy to get upset at the moment. It had been a hard couple of days since she found out exactly why Jemma had been gone for so long.

But one framed photo on the little table next to the bed brought a wide grin to Skye's face. It was her and Jemma, the two of them standing with arms around each other's shoulders and laughing. It had been taken a few days after Jemma had finally let Skye out of that prison of a med bay, after she'd been shot. Skye hadn't had a chance to really stretch her legs for weeks so the both of them had decided to have a night out together, and Skye remembered it as one of the best days she'd had in years.

"Wish we could have a night out now," Skye muttered. "Haven't had a chance to talk to you in ages. I miss you."

Skye's eyes found their way to the cardboard boxes underneath the bed and, on a whim, pulled one out to take a peak. She knew she shouldn't have been snooping, but honestly just being around Jemma's things rid a bit of the weight that had been building in her chest and she didn't want to stop. These were things Jemma had either put away for storage or had planned on packing but at the last minute had to leave behind.

The first thing she found was, funnily enough, a novel version of Wicked (so apparently Jemma didn't think so little of Wicked after all). There was also a small frame of Jem standing with a reserved smile beside an older man and a woman who she assumed were Jem's parents, all of them standing in fancy clothes in front of some big fancy house (well, Skye did have a feeling Jemma came from money). She plucked a sweater from the bottom of the box, bringing it up to her nose and breathing it in deeply. She pretended it still smelled like the biochemist and did not question the extra pounding her heart gave. Whether the pounding was from fear for her friend or from something else, she wasn't sure.

But God, she missed that girl so much and she was so terrified that Jemma would slip up and Hydra would hurt her or kill her or worse and why did Jemma have to leave in the first place? They'd been having a nice thing going… whatever it was they had, because Skye wasn't entirely sure to be perfectly honest.

She put the box back underneath the bed just in time for Trip to appear in the doorway. Skye repressed a blush that she could feel creeping up her cheeks at being found with Simmons' things. Trip, for a moment, seemed to be holding back a smirk. He had a knowing look in his eyes as he began to speak.

"Good news. Simmons is on the restricted comms line. Coulson wants the team to meet for her report."

Skye grinned, following Trip out of the room. This would be the first time in months they'd spoken, and Skye couldn't wait to find out what she'd say to Jemma.


End file.
